Talk Title: Land Use Change in Eastern Africa: Developing a Model of Regime Rhetoric and Framing the Debate over Land Use

Dr. Anne Santiago is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Portland. She received her Ph.D. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Santiago’s research highlights the role of international and domestic actors in the development process in Africa, and in the relationship between political development and economic development. Her current project focuses on the process through which large-scale land leases come about, who emerges as winners and losers, and how state actors compete with other stakeholders to frame their agendas in order to persuade others to adopt them. In another line of inquiry, she conducts research on the cause of conflict and the effectiveness of different methods of conflict management. She has published chapters and articles on topics related to ethno-political violence, conflict, and national security in various parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining the University of Portland, Dr. Santiago worked at the National University of Rwanda, in Butare.

Reza Aslan is a best-selling author, public intellectual, scholar of religions, producer, and television host. Through the lens of his own experience—his family fled Iran during the Revolution in 1979 and settled in the U.S. when Reza was seven—and the conflicts he faced as an immigrant growing up, Aslan will examine the crisis of identity that is currently gripping the U.S., and suggest some possible ways in which we should think differently about race, religion, and identity in order to abolish the hatred and discrimination that has led to this crisis. As Aslan points out, America has, from the beginning, been a diverse nation, built on immigration and ethnic diversity.

Aslan is the author of the international bestsellers No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (2005), and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (2013).

The lecture is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a book sale and signing. It will be live-streamed at: ohc.uoregon.edu.

Seating is limited to 500; no tickets or reservations. Doors will open at 7 p.m. For more information or for disability accommodations (which must be made by Oct. 11th) please call (541) 346-3934 or ohc@uoregon.edu

As part of a course on “Sephardic Cultures” being taught this fall through the Clark Honors College, a trio from the Boston-based international band, the Guy Mendilow Ensemble, will visit Eugene and present a public concert. Multi-instrumentalist, singer, and arranger Guy Mendilow, together with two of his musical collaborators—Argentinian vocalist Sofia Tosell and Palestinian percussionist Tareq Rantisi—will present “Tales from the Forgotten Kingdom” on Sunday, October 9, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at The Shedd, 285 E. Broadway. The performance is described as “a narrative journey through the Balkans and the Mid-East, beginning in Sarajevo and winding through Salonica and Jerusalem….[It] provides a sonic adventure, masterfully brought to life.”

The Guy Mendilow Ensemble offers “an emotionally powerful, artistic voyage awash with warm harmonies, intricate textures and spellbinding rhythms.” The award-winning ensemble recasts traditional Sephardic songs and legends—sung in the endangered Judeo-Spanish language, Ladino—which were carried by Sephardic Jews as they settled along the Mediterranean’s northern coast to Greece and Turkey after being expelled from Spain in 1492. By digging deeply into Sephardic scholarship and revitalizing the sounds preserved on gritty field recordings, Mendilow and his ensemble have brought the ancient Sephardic culture to life, “intertwining voices, percussion, and soulful playing to render these songs in all their color, drama, and heart.” “The tales are amazing,” says Mendilow. “The melodies twist and turn, like the culture of adaptation Sephardic musicians embraced.”

In addition to the concert, Mendilow and his colleauges will give a free public lecture “Myths, Lies and Truths: The Re-Invention of Ladino Song as Ancient” on Monday, October 10 at 6 p.m. in 145 Straub Hall. During their Eugene residency the ensemble will also visit classes at the UO and at Temple Beth Israel’s Hebrew School.

The Guy Mendilow Ensemble’s visit is sponsored by the Robert D. Clark Honors College in collaboration with The Shedd; the OHC’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities; and Temple Beth Israel. For concert information and tickets ($9–$26) visit: theshedd.org. For further information about the other events, please contact balbuena@uoregon.edu

Lisa Gilman, English, will give a Books-in-Print talk “My Music, My War: The Listening Habits of U.S. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan” on Friday, October 7 at noon in the Humanities Center Conference Room (159 PLC).

July 11, 2016

Browsing Room, Knight Library

3:00 pm

Pilgrimage is an important ritual expression that exists within most religions of the world. For centuries Christian pilgrimage was relatively unchanged in its functions and ritual processes. However during the past decades modernity has had its impact on religion and influenced pilgrimage practices as well. This presentation explores how the popular rediscovery of the Camino to Santiago de Compostela and the reinvention of its pilgrimage traditions have led to a global proliferation of new ways of pilgrimaging; how has ‘unchurchisation’ resulted in new ‘secular’ pilgrimages that adhere to and expand upon traditional practices, and to what extent we may still speak of ‘Christian’ pilgrimage in this context?